Revamp Children's Services in the State of Tennessee

8:25 am PST, Feb 8, Rachel Weldon, Tennessee
Like another poster, I too was appalled at hearing Governor Bredesen's speech praising Viola Miller and company. Of course, this is coming from a man who totally destroyed the budget in Tennessee. Hasn't done a thing for K-12 and higher education (trust me my kids aren't getting much of an education in the public schools). As I heard him spew out the biggest bunch of jibberish I have ever heard, I realized that I was about to join the Tennessee Tea Party movement because our government is a flat out joke. DCS in Tennessee are allowed to BREAK THE LAW. For them to receive an endoresment by the governor means he is endorsing criminal behavior. In my view, impeachment is what a person of that character deserves.

12:34 pm PST, Feb 7, Scott Clark, Ohio
I have often heard that Tennessee is the only state with a more corrupt CPS agency than Ohio. If that is true I truly feel sorry for the parents who live in Tennessee.

8:57 pm PST, Feb 6, Christie mccullough Gross, Tennessee

12:57 pm PST, Feb 5, Territa Brown, Tennessee
They steal children!

1:27 pm PST, Feb 4, Doug Marise, Tennessee
When I heard Bredesen defend CPS in this state I completely lost it. How can anyone defend these people? There are so many lawsuits going on in Tennessee, so many destroyed families, so many people that were set up because CPS is looking for a scapegoat or some idiot is trying to gain an advantage in a custody fight.

7:03 am PST, Feb 4, Rachel Edwards, Georgia
It amazes me almost every state has the same problems. One of our Senators Nancy Schaeffer got pretty much blackballed because she did a study on CPS corruption in the country and discovered it was out of control. Our leaders ran as fast as they could when she revealed the findings. Enough said.

12:56 pm PST, Feb 3, Tommy Dacus, Tennessee
I have known about this petition for some day but heistated to sign. After hearing Governor Bredesen's ridiculous state of Tennessee union address, I thought I was going to physically vomit. The excuses he made were beyond ridiculous. I was already annoyed when he started talking about the Department of Children's Services in this state. He took pride in the fact Tennessee apparently is one of only seven accredited child stealing states. Boy that is something to be proud of and explains why it doesn't bother him the numerous lawsuits throughout the state of Tennessee. He even asked Viola Miller to stand up. Considering the fact my neighbor has been trying to get her children back for three years because of crap pulled by her exhusband, how anyone can defend these people and PRAISE them makes me realize why this country is in the state it is in. Your final year in office Mr.Bredesen can't end soon enough.

12:36 pm PST, Feb 2, Ava Coulston, Tennessee
Please do something to help the falsely accused, all we ask for is some checks and balances.

4:53 pm PST, Jan 31, Sandra Whitaker, Tennessee
Why is it Children's Services is exempt from the Constitution? Why is it Children's Services is exempt from the law? Why is it there are no checks and balances with Children's Services? Why is it these people and state governments who ignore the problem are going to hell? Oh strike the last question, we already know the answer.

3:20 pm PST, Jan 28, Billy Moody, Tennessee
I don't have a problem with states have a program to help truly abused children and parents with personal issues but I have a MAJOR problem with the way CPS has been allowed to play God in the state of Tennessee and this country. How about some accountablity for Child Protective Services and some checks and balances. There are so many cases in courts throughout the country concerning this agency. If it were an isolated incident it would be one thing but there are horror stories all the time. It is amazing that parents have their lives destroyed with little or no evidence but CPS who has been proven more than once they are incompetent gets to keep on destroying lives. I love the fact that they claim you can "appeal" their decision. Guess who handles the appeals? That's right a person who works for the agency. People are becoming increasingly sick of what these people are allowed to get away with and this has got to stop.

9:46 pm PST, Jan 26, Jeff Judkins, Tennessee
my daughter has been in states custody for 2yrs was put there for being unruly and i couldnt handle her well the dcs has done nothing for her she ran away from their coustody and was gone four months they didnt really do nothing to help me find her and now she has ran away again and all they worry about is me paying child support and they havent done the first thing to try and find her i really need help before something bad happens to her

5:54 am PST, Jan 25, Clinton Akins, Kansas

11:09 am PST, Jan 24, Carol Gradzewicz, New York
This reminds me of the witch hunts in New England. There, a neighbor could make an accusation against another and horror would result. Then, besides being part of an unjust court system, the person would generally lose their land and often their life. Now days, a person can still take revenge against another by making up false accusations. Instead of losing their land, they lose the most precious thing in their life, their child. Now as then, the accuser seems to go unscathed while the other person's world is turned upside down. The most tragic part of this is that innocent children are the ones who suffer the most. This type of harassment has no place in the 21st century.

8:20 am PST, Jan 24, Name not displayed, Tennessee
As a former social worker I can only speak based on experience. Many of the caseworkers don't even have degrees in that particular area, do not have children, or in one case I know of a caseworker had four children from four different men and was never married. Is that really someone who should make decisions about another person's livelihood? Most parents do not intentionally abuse their kids and putting them with foster parents and sometimes even stepparents destroys the child. Many cases are unsubstantiated but what many of you have to realize is they don't need much evidence. All it takes is a few similar witness to claim something happened, a school or doctor, or if a child says something occurred then you are going to be found guilty which is the problem. It is often circumstantial evidence at best and young children's testimony is very unreliable. There is too much brainwashing and other things possible. I have seen it too many times and it made me sick. CPS was by far and away my least favorite agency to do with and you hear horror stories throughout the country. The only counties I am strongly familiar with are Shelby (where I am from) and I have had some dealings with Fayette and Tipton Counties as well. I also hear plenty about Lauderdale, Dyer, and Lake Counties. I know the ones in Dyer, Lauderdale, and Tipton are especially bad.

2:17 am PST, Jan 24, Wendy Yukihiro, Washington

3:14 pm PST, Jan 23, Wynetta Jackson, Tennessee
Stop these kidnappers!

12:52 pm PST, Jan 22, Name not displayed, Tennessee
All of this is occurring because we have allowed the government to have virtually complete control over everything. It was not what our forefathers intended but you know what power does to people. I have never had to personally deal with CPS in my own life, but I have seen the damage they can do to families and in particular, children. If anyone reading this petition thinks CPS is doing an effective job, you could not be anymore wrong. CPS is a money making agency, which is why states have no desire to do away with it. You need to think long and hard before you vote for anyone who is not anti-CPS. Here is how I learned more than I want to know. At one time, I planned to become an attorney. I always found the concept of law interesting and thought I could make a difference in people's lives. I enrolled in law school and when I wasn't busy with that, I would actually go and watch cases being heard. It could be anything from a divorce case to something far more serious. Soon I began to realize that many cases are pretty much "decided" before they get to court and it isn't always about right and wrong. I also grew disgusted at the amount of time it takes to get a case heard and the way attorneys "milk" clients for more money. But that wasn't what eventually turned me off to becoming a lawyer. It was watching CPS cases. Granted a few times there was overwhelming evidence, but in many cases the whole thing was outlandish. I know this is long but let me explain. They usually go after those who cannot afford a private attorney. You can beat CPS but trying to do it on your own or often with a court appointed attorney gives you little chance. These people violate the Constitution and look for scapegoats. If you are a target, watch out. It does not really matter what the other possibilities are because that would require time and money on their part to truly investigate. Not to mention the fact that many of their caseworkers are young people who couldn't spell cat, if someone gave them the c and the T as a clue. They not only pit parents against one another, but they also love using psychologists and other "experts." It is disgusting beyond words and most private attorneys are more than aware of how they work.

1:27 pm PST, Jan 21, Tina Rainey, Tennessee
Just simply evil and the government turns a blind eye.

6:52 am PST, Jan 20, Paul Johnson, Tennessee
No wonder Lane Kiffin got out of this state as quickly as he could. The government here is such a joke. I think another poster had it right. Why don't they have the guts to meet with people whose lives they destroyed. If they think everyone is an abuser or guilty then they should have the guts to face us and tell us why. That's right we are innocent (at least many of us) and they know it. The key is hire an attorney who despises them for the fact they have no accountability or laws. We need to worry a little bit less about helping other countries and a little bit more about helping loving parents.

1:28 pm PST, Jan 19, Betsy Wicker, Tennessee
Dont have any kids myself but have heard and seen enough about CPS in Tennessee to know something needs to be done.

8:04 am PST, Jan 19, Shayanne Parker, Tennessee
All of the horrible stores I have read on this petition are truly sad and inhumane. For anyone who does not take what the people on this site are saying seriously consider this. Sure there may be a few people who exaggerate or say something untrue but you have people throughout this state and other states giving pretty elaborate details. That means there is something very serious and very real going on. I am an educated person and I can weed through what is real and what is not. There are a lot of articulate people giving a ton of details. My point--even a village idiot could see that CPS is very corrupt in this state and the leadership has failed us. Here is a simple question, if the Governor and Mrs.Viola Miller honestly believe their program is on the up and up, why not speak to the numerous people who have filed lawsuits against the state for having their children stolen from them, etc? Why does he only send form letters stating he is forwarding it to Violam Miller. What he fails to understand is Miller works for CPS? You are never going to get a straight answer from her because to claim there are some problems with CPS would be an admission that it needs to be overhauled. It isn't all Bredesen or Miller's fault, but they should be held at least partially responsible. A good place to start would be to expect CPS agencies to start obeying the Constitution and to stop changing the rules. Quite often they violate their own policies, which where I come from is called covering your ass. Why not volunteer to meet face to face with people who have lost their children and with organizations working to stop CPS corruption? They aren't going to do that because they know they often break laws and the last thing they want is for all citizens to know what it is CPS really does. It is shameful beyond human comprehension.

7:48 am PST, Jan 18, Curtis Norsworthy, Tennessee
Nothing CPS does is on the up and up. This evil agency needs to be done away with.

2:47 pm PST, Jan 15, Ginger Sirmans, Tennessee
It is a sad reality when it isn't a stranger that should be your biggest concern if your kids play outside, etc. Your biggest concern should be a state agency stealing your kids and a government refusing to do a thing about it. To hell CPS and the government shall someday go.

5:24 pm PST, Jan 14, Latara Crisman, Tennessee
I wish a CPS worker or polytican had the balls to post their side on this great petition. They knew what were saying is the truth.

3:54 pm PST, Jan 14, Johnathan Berry, Tennessee
Thanks to the lead for the site posted below me. Boy that is a useful site. CPS is a disgusting organization and the only way to deal with them is through court where the legal system takes years to often get your case heard and people are financially devastated. If you go about it on your own they crush you whether you are guilty or not.

12:56 pm PST, Jan 13, Donna Garcia, Tennessee
This state simply does not care. Time to revolt and let Nashville know it and the country know about it. I was looking on another site and found a very useful set of information everyone on this site needs to read http://www.fightcpspackets.info/allstatespacket.html

8:41 am PST, Jan 13, Name not displayed, Tennessee
DCS was brought in to help my ex get my teens and i almost lost my youger two who are not his. case closed until now they are back again after my little ones. it seems once they come in your life they can't stay out of it. and i know lots of parents that drink and yet they don't bother them all because noone turns them in. basically if you don't have an ex after your children then you have some a** that don't like you stirring up drama. my kids have always been spioled never abused.. i work and make the best of what i can but this needs to stop interupting my kids happiness.

7:06 am PST, Jan 11, Peter Krauss, Tennessee
Everything that we ever learned to fear about Totalitarian States is reflected in the behavior and agenda of D.C.S. My observations of D.C.S.duplicate the letters of other writers: deceit; lies; perjury; and implementation of paid professionals (esp. psychologists) to malign loving parents. The scariest aspect is that they have their own courts and judges. Juvenile Court is now openly called D.C.S. court by the authorities. When judges are no longer independent and objective the common people have lost the right to a fair (hearing) trial. The Inquisition; Salem Witch Trials; Orwell's '1984'. Study them and compare.

9:18 am PST, Jan 10, Angela McCoy, Tennessee
I had always heard DCS was corrupt but you never know what to belive. Then I did some research looked at sites, court cases, you name it. Then I find this petition. There is just way too much consistant information about how people have been done in this state. There is no doubt in mind they have to be stopped and if the governor could run for a third election I would not vote for him this time shame.

10:13 am PST, Jan 9, Brandon Smith, Tennessee
The problem is government in general. This country made some mistakes which I don't have the space to cover and the government has destroyed this once proud country. CPS has untrained workers and is allowed to violate the Constitution. When you don't have any checks and balances power does things to people and it is made becoming a parent dangerous. Common sense will tell you that kids often get bruises etc. Common sense will also tell you that any testimony of a child under 10 or so can easily stem from brainwashing, you name it. Common sense also tells you that many setups occur by the other parent. Yes child abuse exists but the average person is not going to do something to their child and risk losing the kid. Stepparents, neighbors, bullies, etc are far more likely to do so.

4:06 pm PST, Jan 8, Sheila Wyatt, Tennessee

10:50 am PST, Jan 8, Elizabeth Dew, Idaho
It is almost as bad in Idaho but from what I hear Tennessee takes the cake.

12:43 pm PST, Jan 6, Tiffany Larson, Tennessee
Here is the bottom line. I have spent my day reading through most of these tragic stories and whoever of authority reads this petition, get off your lazy a** and do something or go get a job at McDonald's. There are numerous lawsuits throughout this state against the Department of DCS and look at this petition. I don't know if our leaders were deprived of oxygen at birth or what, but think what you will about petitions like this, but not everyone person is lying. It is is obvious there is a serious problem with DCS in this state and I don't know how these people sleep at night.

9:09 am PST, Jan 4, Stacey Bishop, Tennessee
I am pregnant and the soon to be father has chosen not to be a part of my child's life. I am low income though I do work and hope to get a better paying job. But it is not going to be in this sorry state! I am a prime target for someone like Children's Services in Tennessee. I could never afford an attorney if I was ever to need one, you name it. I am getting out of this state asap.

5:08 pm PST, Jan 3, Charlene Gray, Tennessee
Definitely write the senators and don't let them get away with it is a states matter. CPS is a nationwide tragedy and Tennessee has taken the lead in kidnapping. They look for a scapegoat and facts are irrelevant. Stay on their butt, sue their butt, and do not let up on them. Never ever cooperate with CPS because it is an admission of guilt in their eyes and they are going to find excuses to keep your kid away for as long as they want. Remember this is about money. Hell is too good for this agency.

9:34 am PST, Jan 3, Brandon Hill, Tennessee

6:17 pm PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Illinois
Viola Miller is worse than a Nazi or Communist. The whole department is crooked and downright evil. My children are not in the department's care, but I know others that are. Foster care is the catch all term that the department uses as much as possible because it brings in federal dollars. Dangerous delinquent children and often placed with non-violent children and families. Recently, two people in Dickson, Tennessee were killed by two delinquent youth that were called foster children. I encourage everyone that truly cares about children to write the two Tennessee senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker to educate them about DCS. Also, I encourage all interested parties to write their congressmen, plus their state senators and representatives. Don't bother with Bredesen. He just doesn't care. If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, do not do it via DCS. Go with Youth Villages. DCS often puts dangerous delinquent children with foster parents and misrepresents and downplays the violent history of the children or their families. A foster father was killed in Dyersburg in August because he was not informed of the violent nature of the child's father. If you have kids in danger of being put in DCS custody - move out of state. You will not be treated fairly by the department since this cash strapped state relies on foster care payments from the federal government. Speaking for myself, and myself only, I would never allow any child of mine to come into DCS custody. False allegations are rampant at DCS, and you have guilty until proved innocent.

8:30 am PST, Dec 31, Jimmy Hill, Tennessee
As this truly pathetic year and the worst decade in the history of the United States comes to an end, I can't help but wonder how Governor Bredesen and his cronies are doing as tons of Americans have their children legally kidnapped for things they didn't do. All of the appeals, letters to our government officials, you name it do no good, here's hoping Barack "talk a good game but I am not going to do s--t" Obama stays in Hawaii on vacation.

4:50 pm PST, Dec 28, Frank Gerry, Florida

6:55 am PST, Dec 27, Dava Starnes, Tennessee
What a disgusting state this is, I can't wait to get out of here.

1:58 pm PST, Dec 26, Renee Crocker, Tennessee
Let me explain all of this in a nutshell. A friend of mine a few months ago managed to have a conversation with the worst governor in Tennessee history, Phil Bredesen about Children's Services. Bredesen had the audacity to claim he was unaware there was a problem. This despite the numerous lawsuits in this state against CPS and the countless letters and emails sent to him. Oh that's right, they always send a form letter. Please retire from politics Bredesen and take Viola Miller with you, she never answers any questions either.

1:24 pm PST, Dec 26, Name not displayed, Tennessee
I feel like dcs spends to much time on false accusitions and poor investigation than what they doing to a childs heart and mind. With in a 3 month period she wasing changes homes 3 times finally she ended up 2 counties away new school didnt know anyone instead of letting us go to together to a treatment ctr. Would ve had 24 hr supervision in Tennessee at a rehab facility for a yr long step down program to a job and home. We could have starte it today together instead now she has counseling

4:30 pm PST, Dec 25, Joan Davis, Tennessee
CPS took my pre-teen without even interviewing me. Sexual exploitation?! Introduction to drugs?! Child abuse???!!! This is my first Christmas without my daughter. I should not have even wasted the money on a fake tree, there is not a single gift under it as my daughter is now with a family member that told the courts that she didn't want her, but the courts forced the issue so they did not have to PAY. Common story here. My daughter is across country now and I have visitation, if I pay for it. I lost my home and business and all my credit as did so many the last few years. My daughter is now living in a VERY bad city with a school that is rated one of the worst in the country I read on line. I homeschooled her for years and spent tons on her education. The state took all that away from me because I didn't have the money to fight it. Thanks so much Viola. Get these people OUT! If there is no CPS change mentioned in the next election, I am not voting. I would move out of this lovely state and lose everything again if I get pregnant in order to protect my new child.

12:28 pm PST, Dec 25, Kelli Watson, Rhode Island
I just want to offer an encouraging word to all the good people in Tennessee. Several of us are aware of how corrupt CPS has been allowed to become in your state. There are class action lawsuits and other things on the way. I definitely would hire an attorney and start going after the criminals of CPS and I would let the President know that "change" has not happened. If there has been any change, it has been for the worst.

10:26 am PST, Dec 24, Nancy Quinn, Tennessee
Wonder if the governor is doing without this Christmas. Some people are without their children for things they didn't do. Wonder if any of the criminal social workers and their administrators are suffering this Christmas? Wonder if Mr.Nobel Peace Prize yet he allows children to be kidnapped in his country Obama is suffering as he vacations in Hawaii? CPS and most of our government, you make me want to puke.

9:55 am PST, Dec 22, Pauletta Stringham, Tennessee
Our government should be ashamed.

2:22 pm PST, Dec 21, Steve Barnett, Tennessee
CPS are the biggest group of idiots I have ever seen in my life. They simply are not smart enough to realize many alleged cases come from overzealous teachers who don't understand why children could care less what they teach? (Different times and kids are different these days) or by many exes who are looking to win custody battles. I suppose it is too much to ask our government to actually use some common sense. Oh wait that's right! States receive money everytime they put a child in foster homes, not only destroying parents but also the child. Hey, it's all about the benjamins. The United States is quickly becoming the most inept, evil nation on this earth and I hate to say that. Let's vote all these nazis out of office.